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If the Green Bay Packers promote rookie Abdul Hodge into the starting lineup in training camp, they'll have a decision to make: Whether to move him or Nick Barnett from middle linebacker to strong-side linebacker.

Hodge, a third-round pick in this year's draft, is off to a good enough start in training camp that he might challenge for a starting job.

He is Barnett's backup at middle linebacker, but Packers coach Mike McCarthy and the defensive coaches have stressed the linebackers in their scheme are relatively interchangeable, and they'll fit their three best linebackers into the three starting positions.

The Packers might be reluctant to move Barnett, who is entering his fourth season as the starter at middle linebacker, meaning they would move Hodge.

But McCarthy also has said he's averse to teaching rookies more than one position, so if the Packers put Hodge in the starting lineup, they at least will consider moving Barnett to strong-side linebacker.

"It's been obvious there's a comfort level (Hodge) has so far at the (middle) linebacker," McCarthy said.

Whether Hodge makes it into the starting lineup is another matter. He's been active and a heavy hitter so far in camp and was one of the standout players in the Packers' intrasquad scrimmage Saturday night with nine tackles. He plays mostly against the Nos. 2 and 3 offenses in practice, though in the scrimmage, he took part in three series with the No. 2 defense against the starting offense and was in on at least three tackles in the run game.

McCarthy has said he doesn't want to overload rookies by teaching them more than one position, so, for instance, the Packers have kept rookie starters Jason Spitz and Daryn Colledge exclusively at right and left guards, respectively. However, second-round pick Greg Jennings, who also is a contender for a starting job, is playing both flanker and wide receiver.

However, the Packers also would have to consider if moving Barnett would weaken their middle-linebacker play. Barnett has been the Packers' leading tackler the past three years and had 194 tackles last season.

He and linebacker A.J. Hawk, the fifth pick in this year's NFL draft, are locks for the starting lineup, and it seems unlikely the Packers would move Hawk to strong-side linebacker after selecting him that high in the draft and working him exclusively on the weak side in his short time with the team. Ben Taylor, a free agent signed from Cleveland this offseason, has been the starting strong-side linebacker since early in the offseason practices.

McCarthy said the 232-pound Barnett should be capable of playing strong-side linebacker if needed. Most teams line up their strong-side linebacker at the line of scrimmage, directly in front of the tight end, and thus need a bigger, more physical player. The Packers don't.

"I have no reason to think that he's not (capable)," McCarthy said. "Because of our system of linebackers, the base front they're all off the ball, so there's a lot of carryover from position to position."